ARTICLE AD BOX
"That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
"But that is often the case when a bold new worldview appears. ... We are living through a situation like that right now. ... a total shift—like the magnetic poles reversing. But it doesn’t even have a name—not yet.
"So let’s give it one.
"Let’s call it: The Collapse of the Knowledge System. ... The knowledge structure that has dominated everything for our entire lifetime—and for our parents and grandparents—is collapsing. And it’s taking place everywhere, all at once. ... Let me list ten signs of this collapse. (1) Scientific studies don't replicate. ... [and] fake studies get cited more often than reliable ones. ...
(2) Public distrust of experts has reached an intensity never seen before. ...
(3) The career path for knowledge workers is breaking down—and many only have unpaid student loans to show for their years of training and preparation. ... Art history majors now have an easier time finding a job than computer engineers. ...
(4) Funding for science and tech research is disappearing in every sphere and sector. ... corporations that fund their own research programs are now investing in AI data centers, not scientists. ...
(5) Universities have lost their prestige, and have made enemies of their core constituencies. ...
(6) Plagiarism is getting exposed at all levels from students to corporations—and all the way to Harvard's president. But the authorities just take it for granted. ... It’s even embedded in the dominant technologies and institutions. ... (7) AI is imposed everywhere as the new expert system. But when it hallucinates and generates ridiculous responses, the authorities (again) take this for granted. ... And they never, ever apologise. ... (8) Science and technology are increasingly used to manipulate and exploit, not serve ... [and we] now see actual degradation in every sphere of technology. ... (9) Scandals are everywhere in the knowledge economy (Theranos, Sam Bankman-Fried, collapsing meme coins, COVID, etc). ... nobody is shocked anymore. They lost trust in knowledge tech industries long ago. ... (10) We hear constant bickering about “fake science”—from all political and ideological stances. Nobody talks about “true science” ..."Let me point out that despite all the manipulations, hallucinations, abuses, and dysfunctional excesses of the digital life…
"…Despite all of these, symphonies sound as majestic as ever. Philosophy is more necessary than ever. Paintings are still glorious. Great architecture does not collapse. Nature warms the heart. As do poems and epics and myths.
"Jazz still swings. Heroes still prevail. The soul is stirred. And one lover still reaches for another.
"I’m not sure what exactly will replace the cold, dying knowledge system. But I suspect it will recognize the value of these things. And will prevail for that very reason. ...
"I’m not suggesting that you can replace tech with a poem. But tech now desparately needs what can only be provided by the humanities and human values.
"The new knowledge system will be built on these human values. Technology will be forced to serve it—or it will get locked into a losing battle with the new 'softer and gentler' knowledge system."
~ Ted Gioia from his post 'The Ten Warning Signs'
English (US) ·